Archaeologists working at the Smithsonian Tropical Research Institute in Panama have discovered a cluster of 12 unusual stones behind a prehistoric rock-shelter near the town of Boquete. The cache represents the earliest material evidence of shamanistic practice in lower Central America.

At the Party Zone on the Amador Causeway, the flag of "Carnival of the City, Discovery 2013" was hoisted up into a sunny sky. The Carnival culecos, or water trucks, were on hand to cool off the summer crowds in the way that Panamanians do best.